Preparation and characterization of titania- and organo-pillared clay hybrid photocatalysts capable of oxidizing aqueous bisphenol A under visible light

•Hybridized copper-phthalocyanine/montmorillonite with TiO2 was prepared.•The hybrid photocatalyst functioned under UV and visible light.•The hybrid photocatalyst exhibited excellent adsorption of aqueous BPA.•The photocatalyst was able to decompose aqueous BPA under UV and/or visible light.•CO2 was a product of the photocatalytic decomposition reaction of the hybrid.

To develop solid material with both higher adsorption capacities for toxic organic compounds and effective photocatalytic oxidation ability for toxic organic compounds under visible-light irradiation, we attempted to hybridize cationic Cu-phthalocyanine derivatives (PABI) as photosensitizers with cetyltrimethylammonium/montmorillonite (CTA/Mt) containing TiO2 nanocrystals, and investigated both adsorption and photocatalytic abilities of prepared hybrid solid material for bis-phenol A (BPA) dissolved in aqueous media, which was one of endocrine disrupting chemicals. The prepared hybrid solid material could adsorb sufficient amount of BPA dissolved in aqueous media by hydrophobic interaction between BPAs and interlayer space of CTA/Mt. Moreover, it was found that the present hybrid solid material could photocatalytically decompose BPA molecules adsorbed within hybrid solid material under UV and/or visible light irradiation, and then, final products were CO2, H2O, and so on.

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